(Reuters) – U.S. new-crop corn fell a seventh straight session on Wednesday, its longest losing streak in a year, as forecasts for near-perfect weather continued to fuel expectations of record production.
Soybeans dropped to their lowest since early February, while wheat inched up on bargain buying after the market hit a four-year low on Monday.
Chicago Board Of Trade December corn lost 0.3 percent to $4.03 a bushel by 0222 GMT, after touching Tuesday’s contract low of $4.02-3/4 a bushel. November soybeans lost 0.5 percent to $11.10 a bushel, lowest since early February.
“I think there is still opportunity for the market to overshoot to the downside,” said one Melbourne-based analyst. “Positioning is still long in oilseeds, we see more downside.”
The USDA on Monday reported that the corn crop was in the best shape for early July in 15 years and that soy crop conditions were the best in 20 years.
Despite pockets of excessive moisture and flooding, crop development conditions around the Midwest have been largely ideal. Corn this month is entering its critical pollination stage, a period when excessive heat and dryness can clip yields.
Commodity funds on Tuesday sold a net 6,000 Chicago Board of Trade soybean contracts, trade sources said. The funds were net even in wheat and corn.
Investors in grain and oilseed markets are positioning ahead Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture report, which is expected to show higher old-crop soybean ending stocks and record-large corn and soybean harvests.
U.S. wheat prices have remained under pressure from plentiful supplies amid an advancing harvest across the northern hemisphere.
Falling wheat prices have stirred some demand from importers, but cheaper Black Sea production has pushed U.S. wheat out of the frame in a string of tenders. Egypt’s GASC, which has bought mostly Black Sea wheat in recent tenders, issued a fresh tender on Tuesday for late-August shipment.
September wheat added a quarter of a cent to $5.56-1/2 a bushel. The front-month contract dropped on Monday to $5.45 a bushel, lowest since July 14, 2010.
In addition, an improved outlook for global bulk shipping rates spells bad news for grain exporters as they go into the latest sales campaign, with increased freight costs squeezing profit margins and adding to price competition in leading markets.
